Jump to: Today's Theme | Tricky Clues
THURSDAY PUZZLE -- That Joe Deeney is a trickster. In today's puzzle, which he constructed, the answers you are expecting may not lie where you expect them.
This will come as no surprise to experienced solvers, as today is Thursday, the day of crossword twists and turns. Particularly turns. Don't ignore the turns.
Today's Theme
There are four pairs of shaded squares in Mr. Deeney's grid. Those are there to yoink you off your intended path, mess with you a bit and then drop you back onto it. Good stuff, and at least it's not a rebus.
The letters that belong inside the pairs of shaded squares are T and O. Each TO pair is part of a distinct entry but is also instrumental to solving a theme entry that lies nearby. That means you will have to briefly diverge from your path to find the answer.
The TOs are directional as well. There's an "up TO," a "left TO," a "right TO" and a "down TO." Our job is to understand where the TO sits in conjunction with the theme answer and then use that knowledge to complete the long entry.
The answer to the clue [Fills in with the latest] at 18A, for example, needs to be written out as BRINGS SPEED, which doesn't make much sense. At 16A, right above BRINGS SPEED, however, there's a TO nested inside TOUPEE. That means that your path to the theme entry's answer involves turning up, passing through the TO pair and then turning down to obtain the complete entry, BRINGS (UP TO) SPEED.
Similarly, at 27D, where the clue reads [Not beat around the bush], we have GET THE POINT. That doesn't feel quite right, does it?
Look for a TO close to that entry. It's to the right, which means that the complete entry is GET (RIGHT TO) THE POINT.
Tricky Clues
I'll be honest: I think the clues are pretty straightforward for a Thursday puzzle, but there is some very nice wordplay for us to chew on.
16A. The usual answer to a clue like [Made do?] is "eked," but not today, my friends. If you are wearing a hairdo (or 'do) that is made by humans, you are wearing a TOUPEE.
43A. If you are a fraternity brother in the college Greek system, the [Greek language?] you may speak is BRO SPEAK.
6D. The party in [Rave party?] is someone who might rave about something. That person is a CRITIC.
13D. The [Debut character for Zadie Smith?] is not a character in a novel by the English author Zadie Smith. It's the first (debut) letter (character) of her name. In England, that letter is referred to as ZED.
34D. Since [Noodle nuggets] aren't really a thing (readers write in to tell me that they are, in fact, a thing in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... go!), I knew the clue was not referring to edible noodles. The noodle is a person's head, and the nuggets are IDEAS.
Constructor Notes
I hope you found this puzzle closer to SUHWEET than NOT OKAY. Even if you didn't, BE PROUD that you solved it!
There were no shaded squares in my original submission. I suppose the puzzle may have tested too difficult without them, and there is still an aha moment awaiting the solver even with the shading.
Join Our Other Game Discussions
Want to be part of the conversation about New York Times Games, or maybe get some help with a particularly thorny puzzle? Here are the:
Spelling Bee Forum
Wordle Review
Connections Companion
Improve Your Crossword Solving
Work your way through our guide, "How to Solve the New York Times Crossword." It contains an explanation of most of the types of clues you will see in the puzzles and a practice Mini at the end of each section.
Want to Submit Crosswords to The New York Times?
The New York Times Crossword has an open submission system, and you can submit your puzzles online.
For tips on how to get started, read our series "How to Make a Crossword Puzzle."
The Tipping Point
Almost finished solving but need a bit more help? We've got you covered.
Spoiler alert: Subscribers can take a peek at the answer key.
Trying to get back to the main Gameplay page? You can find it here.